Update, 1:35 p.m. Berkeley resident Chris Lull, who came upon the crash Wednesday morning, posted an account of it in the Berkeleyside comments. It has been republished below.
“I must have been third car on the scene at 7:08 or so, coming up from Gilman, as soon as we turned the corner onto Sacramento, I saw the bicyclist down and the driver out of his car calling for help. I stopped my car in the middle of the … lanes on Sacramento to try to prevent any more cars from coming through. The victim was prone and both legs looked badly broken. He wasn’t breathing and didn’t have a pulse. I turned him over to get his airway open, started chest compressions, I didn’t do any rescue breaths because there was just too much blood and I didn’t have a mask. There wasn’t much I could do. Between sets of compressions I kept checking for a pulse, trying to talk to him, rubbing his sternum to see if I could get any response. I told the guy on the phone to tell 911 to send an ambulance as fast as possible.
“I did this for another 45 seconds or so…. The paramedics from Berkeley Fire got there within seconds of that and went to work. The driver was talking to police, there was another car who got there before I did who might have been an eye witness, she left her name with the police, as I did.
“I am speculating but the tendency of northbound cars to merge there, especially when it’s raining and still dark, combined with a bicycle without a helmet, all combined to take a life this morning.
“I post this not to try to get any credit, I did very little and I don’t think there’s anything I could have done to save the guy’s life.…
“I’m going to get some latex gloves and a rescue breath mask for my car. I think everyone should have one. I’m reading up on the latest CPR guidelines. I talked to my son this morning about always wearing a helmet, even for the shortest drives, and I’m going to drive everywhere a little slower from now on.
“He seemed like a very sweet old man. I wish I could have helped more.”
Update, 12:30 p.m. The cyclist’s name remains unavailable, the coroner’s office reports.
Original story, 9:32 a.m. Authorities are on the scene Wednesday morning after a crash involving a vehicle and cyclist that left the cyclist dead.
Police said the crash happened shortly after 7 a.m. on Sacramento Street south of Hopkins Street.
“The Berkeley Police Department received a report of a collision between a bicycle and a vehicle on Sacramento Street at Ada Street. The bicyclist did not survive the collision. The driver of the vehicle stopped immediately and is cooperating with the investigation,” police said in a Nixle alert just before 9:15 a.m.
The Berkeley Fire Department identified the cyclist as an adult, but no further information was immediately available.
“The adult cyclist was assessed by Berkeley Firefighter Paramedics,” BFD said. “Our paramedics made a determination of death and turned the scene over to Berkeley Police.”
Police said, as is normal procedure, the BPD Fatal Accident Investigation Team is responding to handle the investigation.
Streets in the area will remain blocked as the investigation continues, BPD said.
The department put out a Nixle alert at about 7:40 a.m. warning drivers to avoid the area of Sacramento from Rose Street to Hopkins.
Learn more about Nixle in past coverage and see other BPD alerts on the Nixle website.
